Vietnam’s role in UNESCO multilateral forums to be increased

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam
National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO) will work to increase Vietnam’s role in multilateral
forums, said Chairman Le Hoai Trung during a meeting in Hanoi on January
10.

Trung, who is also Deputy Foreign
Minister, delegated tasks to the commission this year, including increasing
activities in education, urging the UNESCO to recognise the royal records of the
Nguyen dynasty as a document heritage of the Asia-Pacific Region’s Memory of
the World Programme, Bai Choi arts of the central region and Xoan singing as an
intangible cultural heritage of humanity, as well as pushing forward Vietnam’s
bid for the post of UNESCO Director General for 2017-2021.

He said ministries, agencies and
localities should fully tap support from UNESCO while the commission’s
sub-committees should devise mechanisms to further preserve and uphold
Vietnam’s heritage.

According to him, more attention
should be given to honouring scientific heritage this year, especially those
regarding hydrology and oceanography.

Localities were also asked to work
closely with sub-committees to remove difficulties in finance and human
resources training.

Tran Thi Hoang Mai, Vice Secretary
General of the commission, said the commission actively joined UNESCO’s forums
and meetings last year, including the meetings of the UNESCO Executive Board
and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, during which Vietnam’s stature in
UNESCO’s multilateral forums has improved.

Vietnam undertook several important
positions in UNESCO’s committees and hosted the eighth meeting of the Memory of
the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific.

The commission succeeded in seeking
UNESCO recognition to the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms worship practices as
the world intangible cultural heritage, literary works in the Hue imperial
architecture and woodblocks of Phuc Giang school as the Asia-Pacific document
heritage.

It also effectively approached UNESCO’s resources and tapped UNESCO’s
initiatives and experience for socio-economic development, she said.

On the occasion, Trung presented the
insignia “For Vietnam’s diplomatic cause” to Chairman of the Vietnam Federation
of UNESCO Associations Nguyen Xuan Thang, Director of the Institute of
Geological and Mineral Sciences Tran Tan Van and Chairman and Secretary General
of the Man and Biosphere (MAB) Vietnam Committee Nguyen Hoang Tri.-VNA